The Circle (Hammer) - By Elfgren, Sara B.,Strandberg, Mats Page 0,75

he was murdered,’ the principal continues. ‘The purpose of that meeting was to find out whether he was the Chosen One. I could have waited for the blood moon to appear, but I already had certain indications. Anyway, I took a strand of his hair and sent it to our laboratories. The following morning I received the test results, which confirmed my suspicions, but by then it was already too late. I thought it was all over. As I said, I was sure I was just looking for one person. But during Elias’s memorial service, I noticed magical activity in the auditorium. That was when I realised there could be more of you.’

‘But how did you know it was us?’ Minoo asks.

There is a second part to Minoo’s question that she doesn’t dare voice. If the principal could find them, does that mean the evil that is after them can, too?

‘Some of you have been less discreet than others,’ says Lopez, looking at Anna-Karin, who squirms uncomfortably on the sofa next to Minoo. ‘Let me take this opportunity to inform you that there are laws that must be obeyed even where magic is concerned.’

‘Laws?’ Anna-Karin asks weakly.

‘Three simple directives. You may not practise magic without the Council’s express permission. You may not use magic to break non-magical laws. And you may not reveal yourselves as witches to the non-magic public.’ She turns to Anna-Karin again. ‘The Council might turn a blind eye to any transgressions you may have committed up until now because you didn’t know the rules. But I advise you to refrain immediately from practising any magic at school.’

‘What is the Council, and why should we submit to it?’ Linnéa asks.

‘For the same reason that you submitted to society’s laws before your powers were awoken,’ the principal says. ‘You are part of the magical society, and in that society the Council enacts the laws and governs. We should all be thankful for that.’

Linnéa snorts.

The principal ignores her and continues: ‘But getting back to how I discovered you. Part of the prophecy refers to purely calendrical events, among other things that the Chosen One would be woken on a night with a blood moon. Most people can’t see the blood moon –I myself can’t see it with the naked eye – but it follows a particular cycle and there were signs I could interpret. I sent out my familiar—’

‘Your what?’ Vanessa interrupts.

‘Through a complex process, a witch can create a connection with an animal. Most often it’s a cat, a dog, a frog or a bird. I chose a raven. Or, rather, it chose me. Simply put, we share a part of each other’s consciousness. My familiar can act as my eyes or ears when my own aren’t up to the task. I sent him out and he saw you gather by Kärrgruvan. I reported it to the Council, which ordered me to arrange meetings with you, one at a time. I started with Rebecka. I sent a strand of her hair for analysis to be a hundred per cent sure she really was Chosen. Unfortunately she passed away, too, before I received the answer.’

‘She was murdered!’ Linnéa shouts. She has stood up. She’s so worked up that she’s shaking. ‘They were murdered! They were murdered and you couldn’t stop it! You could at least have warned them!’

‘After Rebecka’s death, I got in touch with the Council for permission to take action, not just to observe. My request set off an intense debate –’

‘We could have died, too!’ Linnéa cuts in.

‘– but after your break-in, the process was speeded up. Now we can draw up a mutual action plan,’ says the principal.

‘A mutual action plan? That’s what the idiots at Social Services always call it,’ says Linnéa. ‘Only their idea of “mutual” is that they make the decisions and we do as they say. Isn’t that what you had in mind, too?’

‘That attitude will get us nowhere,’ the principal answers.

‘Go to hell!’ Linnéa shouts. Everyone except the principal jumps. ‘We don’t need you! We never asked for your help!’

The principal looks at Linnéa coldly. Then she stands up, walks to the door, heels clicking, and pulls it wide open. Nicolaus almost falls into the room. ‘You may as well come in,’ she says frostily.

‘I …’ Nicolaus seeks out Minoo’s gaze.

‘She’s not the murderer,’ Minoo says quietly. ‘At least, it doesn’t look like it.’

Nicolaus takes a few steps into the room. The principal shuts the door behind him and returns